Ducks’ Devante Smith-Pelly, Ilya Bryzgalov return to action in San Jose

Lost in the fun the Ducks are having in their six-game winning streak has been forward Devante Smith-Pelly, the 22-year-old playoff standout of last season who’s been a healthy scratch in the last two games.

Smith-Pelly, who scored a team-best five playoff goals last season but hasn’t scored a goal in 18 games he’s played since Dec. 1, will return to action tonight against the San Jose Sharks.

“Not going out there to try and get five goals and five assists, just keep it simple, play my game, help out,” Smith-Pelly said after Thursday’s morning skate at SAP Center.

A day earlier, Smith-Pelly said tolerating time on the bench is difficult.

“Obviously, you want to play every game, but at the same time, they’ve made a lineup change and we’ve played two pretty good games, so … it’s hard to complain when the team’s doing well,” he said.

The young forward has navigated a bumpy season that has included experimental use at center until Rickard Rakell righted himself after coming back from the minor leagues.

He was put on and taken off the first line with Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry, and has been sidelined in favor of forwards Rene Bourque and Tim Jackman on the fourth line in the last two games. This time, it appears Jackman will sit.

“All I can do is just keep doing what I’ve been doing, work hard in practices, and when I get back, hopefully I do well,” Smith-Pelly said. “Obviously, it’d be nice to chip in with a goal or a point … if I play my game, it’s going to happen.”

Ducks Coach Bruce Boudreau said Smith-Pelly hasn’t been under-performing, explaining it’s just difficult to crack the lineup of the team that leads the NHL in points.

“That’s how I feel too,” Smith-Pelly said. “I was playing well when they switched it up [seven combined shots in back-to-back games against the New Jersey Devils and Kings Jan. 16-17] and we’ve played two almost perfect games … all I can do is work hard.”

Coming back in an important game seems a good call.

The Sharks are second to the Ducks in the Pacific Division and Friday’s game at Honda Center is against the Chicago Blackhawks, whom he scored the deciding goal on the road against Oct. 28 in a 1-0 game.

“Those high-intensity games are the ones I get up for,” Smith-Pelly said. “The games that are a little more special, you want to play in those. It’s something I’ve been doing my whole life. I love playing in games like this.”

BRYZ IN: Backup goalie Ilya Bryzgalov deprived reporters of his wit by declining to talk Thursday morning, but he did leave the ice first and will start tonight after a 14-save win against New Jersey in his most recent showing.

“We’ve got 28 games left in 52 days, you’re not running with [starrer] Freddie [Andersen in all of those]. We’ve got ‘Bryz’ here for a reason,” Ducks Coach Bruce Boudreau said. “We put him in a tough situation and see how he makes out.”